Ready,Set,Go

Man has always loved speed. It is like an insatiable hunger, a natural high. And nobody does it better than the guys in an F1 cockpit, whizzing around at more than 300 km/h and making turns at speeds that would make anyone dizzy. A sport that is known for its extravagance, with a champagne celebration for the race winners, what hides beneath the facade is the real talent and courage of the drivers, pushing themselves to the edge week after week.

That brings us to the current F1 season. With the Malaysian GP recently concluded on 1^st October, the season could not be more precariously placed. It has been Mercedes vs Ferrari all season. The silver arrow versus the prancing horse, both going hammer and tongs at each other. They are quite similar to someone looking from the outside, both teams have number one drivers who were the youngest race winners in F1 at some point in their careers and are putting everything on the line for victory this season, Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel for Ferrari.

Both have no-nonsense Finnish racers as their number two drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen respectively. On the track, however, the Ferarri likes slow speed and snaky tracks, while the Mercedes excels on high-speed ones. Such has been their dominance that 13 out of 14 races so far have been won by the pair.

Ever since Vettel won the first race of the season in Australia, there had been a storm brewing. And it came to the fore when Vettel slammed into Hamilton deliberately at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The coldness has been apparent since, getting worse as Hamilton won the last 3 consecutive races, overtaking Vettel in the championship standings.

With F1 safer for the drivers now, it doesn’t mean that there are no spectacular crashes. The last race was a nighttime Singapore GP on the 15th of September, a track favouring Ferrari, and one of Vettel’s favourites. With Vettel on pole, the race was his to lose. Hamilton in 5^th needed a miracle or a moment of madness. Vettel provided the latter. Unable to see teenage sensation Max Verstappen’s RedBull side to side with him, Vettel’s hara-kiri meant that he, Verstappen, Raikkonen and the ever unfortunate Fernando Alonso all crash out of the race. Hamilton probably laughed his way to victory under his helmet and the only other driver who didn’t mind was the honey badger Daniel Ricciardo of RedBull, finishing second.

With Hamilton 34 points in the lead in standings from Vettel and 5 races to go, the season is sure to have an explosive, high-octane finish, since we have seen in this season that absolutely anything can happen on the track. This is proved by the Malaysian GP just a day ago, Raikkonen qualifying 2nd but unable to take part in the race, Hamilton qualifying 1st but finishing 2nd, Vettel starting the race in the last position but having a great race to finish 4th and keep his title hopes alive. Also, Dutch prodigy Verstappen winning just the second race of his career, with RedBull teammate Ricciardo taking the final podium spot in 3rd.

With 2017 being one of the best seasons in recent years, the remaining races are a must watch for any fan, and will end up exciting even those who watch it for the first time. After all, as Tom Cruise famously said in Top Gun, “I feel the need, the need for speed”.

Also, drive safely and responsibly when on roads. SPark does not recommend any of its readers try and emulate the activities of these trained professionals.